Quiz: Howstuffworks

Fix These Sentences and We'll Rate Your Grammar Skills on a Scale of 1–10

Jennifer Post

What would you change about this sentence? "Who am I going to go to the store with?"

Reword it so the sentence doesn't end with a preposition

Change "who" to "with whom"

Change "going to" to "gonna"

It looks good to me.

Is there anything wrong with this sentence? "And another thing, she was wearing white!"

In modern times, that sentence is fine.

Yes, you shouldn't begin a sentence with "and."

The comma shouldn't be there.

It doesn't need the exclamation point.

How would you correct this sentence? "To swiftly write is to write effectively."

I wouldn't.

"To write swiftly is to write effectively."

It's "affectively."

There should be a comma after the first "write."

Which word/s should be adjusted in the following sentence? "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

Technically, "can't" and "don't" should be "cannot" and "do not."

Conjunctions shouldn't be used in formal writing.

The sentence looks great!

I think the word "but" shouldn't be there

In the following sentence, would you change anything? "That movie was super awesome."

Slang shouldn't be used.

Slang can be used, but only in moderation.

The wording is too casual.

There is no context.

Is this sentence proper? "It was an historic event."

It is, actually.

It is depending on how you pronounce "historic."

No, it should be "a historic"

I'm pretty sure this is one of those grammar rules that can go either way.

Can one sentence be a proper paragraph?

No, paragraphs are three to five sentences long.

Nowadays, yes

In certain types of writing, yes

Not usually

What would you change about this sentence? "Everyone should take his/her seat."

Nothing, it's perfect.

"His/her" can be replaced with "their."

Make it "his" or "her" but not both.

It should say "his or her" without the slash.

Where is the mistake in this sentence? "I was going to the store but then I got stuck at every red light so I was going to turn around if I got stuck at one more but then I made the green light so I decided to go after all."

It is a run on sentence.

That sentence should be three or four separate sentences.

It is missing any and all punctuation.

There are too many of the word "so."

Is there anything wrong with this sentence? "I can't get no satisfaction."

The conjunctions again!

It's a double negative.

There should be a comma after "no."

It's an incomplete sentence.

Which sentence sounds better? "A bunch of my friends was here" or "A bunch of my friends were here."

The first one sounds wrong, but it technically right

This rule hasn't been used correctly in a long time, so the second one sounds better.

Isn't the second one how it's supposed to be?

Neither

Is it proper to say "I've got to go"?

No, it should read, "I have got to go."

No, but I forget why.

Yep, sounds good.

No, it should read "I got to go."

What about this sentence is wrong? "All five of them really like each other."

You can leave out the word "five."

"Each other" should be "one another."

The sentence should begin with "they."

I might be wrong, but I don't think anything is wrong.

Does this sentence use the correct form of the word "data"? "The datum is on the disk"

Only if there is a single piece of information on the disk

You should never use the singular form of "data"

Yes, it does.

I don't think so.

How does this sentence sound? "If you would like, you can come down to the office and you can tell him in person"?

It sounds like there are too many "you."

"You" should be replaced with "one."

It sounds like I'd run out of breath saying it out loud.

The last "you" doesn't need to be there.

In what type on writing can you use "I"?

In a narrative

Any type of informal writing

It can be used anywhere now.

"I" should never be used.

What is the term for this sentence? "Turning the corner, things were quite different"

Dangling modifier

Incomplete sentence

Fragment

Orphan

How is this sentence wrong? "Hi mom, it is I"

It's actually grammatically correct.

It should read "Hi mom, it's me."

It should say "It is I, mom."

Only very formal people talk like that.

Is there anything wrong with this sentence? "I'm only a little bit pregnant"

You can't be a little bit pregnant; you either are or you aren't.

In common language, that sentence is perfect.

It definitely doesn't look right.

"Bit" shouldn't be there after "little."

What about this sentence is technically grammatically incorrect? "I go shopping alot."

"A lot" is two words.

The word "allot" means to assign a portion of something.

"Go" should be "went."

"A lot" should be "often."

Is this sentence correct? "I'm literally starving"

Yes, if you are malnutrition​ to the point of starvation

No, it is an inappropriate use of "literally."

Starving is hyperbole.

That sounds correct to me.

How would you fix this common phrase? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

It's a common phrase so it doesn't need to be fixed.

"Ain't" isn't a real word.

The comma is misplaced.

It should be "broken."

Are you passive aggressive? What about this sentence, is it passive? "All of the cookies have been eaten by you."

It is.

Yes, but it sounds right.

I think it should read "You ate all the cookies."

What does passive mean?

What makes this sentence incorrect? "The phone, whose cord was tangled, hung on the wall."

Using "whose" to describe the phone

It should say "hanged"

It should just say "The phone on the wall."

"Was" shouldn't be in front of tangled.

Does this sentence hold up grammatically? "There are fewer fish in the sea."

Not according to strict grammar rules

Yes, because you can't actually count the fish in the sea.

"Are" should be "is."

It absolutely does

Can you spot the incorrect grammar in this sentence? "Although you were still eating pureed food, I was solving equations."

"Although" should be "while."

You shouldn't begin a sentence with "although."

It looks fine to me.

It's an improper comparison.

Which part of this sentence is incorrect? "There were over 40 people there."

"Over" should be "more than."

I don't see anything wrong.

"There" at the beginning of the sentence is too vague.

"There" at the end of the sentence is too vague.

Is there anything wrong with this sentence? "Hi everyone!"

It's too short.

The comma after "hi" is missing.

It seems unfinished.

It should be the formal, "hello."

Can nouns ever be verbs?

Very casually, but not in formal writing

Yeah, it can be fun.

Not technically

I feel like they can be.

Is the hyphen in the right place in this sentence? "This sourdough bread is rock-hard."

About This Quiz

English grammar originated in the late 16th century with the publication of Pamphlet for Grammar. Written by William Bullokar, the pamphlet bases English grammar on those rules and guidelines that were found, and based, in Latin. There was a more modern approach introduced in the 19th century.

Grammar is also ever-changing based on popular usage and changes in the form of the language. Additionally, grammar rules that once were extremely strict and not to be strayed from have become loosened and open for interpretation. In school, the youth of America are taught the hard and fast rules that are not to be broken. However, once that youth grows up a little bit, they realize there is a little bit more leniency when it comes to grammar, but as long as they are in school, they will be graded on the black and white grammar rules.

So how much do you remember about grammar? Honestly, there's a lot of stuff to remember, and it can all get jumbled in your brain when you're also expected to remember the capitals of all the states, the preamble to the Constitution and the entire breakdown of the solar system. Fix these sentences and we'll rate your grammar knowledge on a scale of 1-10!

About HowStuffWorks Play

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